


The Hill By The Ocean

by EighthHeroine



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, M/M, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 09:31:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19354249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EighthHeroine/pseuds/EighthHeroine
Summary: "I think the world has a funny way of getting us to a place where we're happy, even if it's not how we expected things to turn out." Mentions of one sided Soriku. Can be seen as friendship or eventual romance.





	The Hill By The Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> After KH3 I've fallen more in love with RikuVen as a ship, however this fic was primarily a way to practice writing these two, I'm not sure if its as good as past fics I've written but I had fun! Their relationship in this fic is primarily friendship but maybe I'll add more chapters so its eventual romance since I have a lot of ideas. I hope you enjoy! (I also definitely did not name this fic after lyrics from Critical Mistakes by 888. Nope. I totally did not.)

Today is Sora's 16th birthday. There's cake and music and of course Disney decorations including Donald Duck paper plates, Goofy streamers, Mickey Mouse napkins, Olaf paper cups, the whole deal. Truthfully Ventus had felt just a teensy bit embarrassed going down the party aisle at Target and placing Disney princess party items in his cart (he would've been less embarrassed if Roxas had agreed to come with him). But Sora was happy and it always seemed like if Sora was happy it was contagious and everyone else was happy as well. And Ven was of course happy because Sora was happy… at least he was trying to convince himself he was. Ventus could be self conscious but he was rarely shy so parties weren't normally an issue for him and yet he found himself feeling increasingly out of place in Sora's house (it didn't feel like his home) surrounded by Sora's friends (he had only known most of them for a year). 

It was during moments like this that Ven felt terribly guilty because Sora, Roxas and Sora's Mother (and his Aunt) Laila were his family by blood and they were amazing and had quickly found a special place in his heart. And yet he missed Aqua's desserts and Terra's hearty laugh and Eraqus's proud smile. He missed Skuld because she'd help him with his homework and Ephemer because he'd always bring extra coffee to school just for Ven. He missed the mountains and snow and the cool dry air. 

Sora is laughing bright and loud as Kairi wraps her arms around him and kisses him on the cheek. Roxas is playing video games with Hayner, Xion and Namine, while Pence and Olette cheer them on. The rest of the house is filled with people Ven can't recall if he knows. He tries to remember the names of all the guests his Aunt Laila had mentioned but none of them sound familiar even though he can recognize some faces from their school.

Feeling far too overwhelmed and increasingly frustrated and upset Ven beelines to the front door not wanting to act out on Sora's birthday. He makes it outside without any issues which he's both happy about and a hint upset about because a small part of him would like to think someone would have seen him running towards the door and asked if he was okay.

The air outside isn't dry like Colorado but humid and sticky like it usually is on Maui so he's not sure why he keeps expecting it to be different. Sora's house is about fifteen minutes from the ocean so he decides he may as well walk to the beach. It's not the same as the mountains but he does like the sound of the waves, he's sure Aqua would love them as well she always used to enjoy their visits to mountain lakes on their camping trips.

He takes out his phone as he walks and does mindless things to keep himself busy like checking kingstagram and his text messages. Skuld had told him last week over the phone that Ephemer and her would take their AP exams soon. Neither of them had posted anything on kingstagram and he wonders if their exams had been this week. He decides to text Ephemer and ask since he tended to be quicker than Skuld at texting back. Finished with that he moves to turn his phone off but pauses when he's met with the photograph of him, Aqua and Terra at Elitches he'd set as his home screen. Terra had beat the high striker carnival game and won stuffed animals for each of them so they had decided to take a picture to remember the accomplishment and Eraqus had been more than willing to take it for them. Ven feels his chest tighten and he quickly shoves his phone back in his pocket. 

He thinks maybe he should call Terra or Aqua but decides it's best not to. They were both attending college now and the last time he had called Aqua she had sounded ridiculously tired. He wasn't sure how Terra was doing… he hadn't been answering his calls.

Probably tired of a whiny loser like you, a voice in his head says. He bites his lip and looks up from glaring at the sidewalk.

The beach appears in front of him now and he's surprised there aren't many people around. There's just a few kids, a couple walking around and an individual sitting along the coast looking towards the ocean. The figure's silver hair catches in the light and Ven recognizes him as Sora's best friend Riku. Ven is confused, shouldn't Riku be at the party? Homesickness temporarily forgotten Ven makes his way to the silver haired boy wondering if something had happened. Riku had seemed perfectly fine that morning when they were putting decorations up, Roxas and him had bickered as usual and even ended up having a competition over who could put the most decorations up in an hour. 

"Riku?"

Riku visibly jumps and spins his head around. For a moment a flash of anger appears on his face but fades to a confused look once the silverette gets his bearings. Ven ignores the anger that briefly bubbles inside him because unlike Xion, Sora, Namine and Kairi, Riku still had a tendency to confuse him with Roxas. He knew it wasn't Riku's fault some weird kid had shown up out of nowhere that looked exactly like Roxas but he would've thought by now Riku wouldn't assume he's Roxas every time he looked at him.

"Ventus? Why are you here?" 

Ven crosses his arms at Riku's tone subconsciously, "I just.. needed to get away for awhile. Why are you out here? It is your best friend's birthday."

Riku looks away from him towards the ground, "It- Sora's fine without me. He's perfectly happy."

Ven furrows his brow in confusion, "He is. I'm sure he'd be happier if you were with him though."

Riku gives Ven a funny look then completely turns back towards the ocean with a curt, "Maybe."

Ven frowns at the response. Something's definitely wrong he's just not sure what. Stubborn to a fault Ven plops down beside Riku on the beach. Unfortunately he doesn't realize that sand isn't quite like dirt and an amount of it flies up in the air getting all over him. He makes an annoyed sound and attempts to brush it off his clothes. 

Riku snorts next to him. 

Ven comments meekly, "I hate sand." 

Riku watches him with mirth in his eyes, "You're just not used to it yet."

"I don't think I ever will be."

Riku doesn't respond and Ven keeps himself busy by brushing sand off himself. He's in the process of trying to think of something to say when Riku speaks up.

"What were they like? The mountains?"

Ven takes a moment to think about that. "They weren't too different from the ones you have here. Well except there are more and everything feels... bigger somehow. You'd climb to the top of one and when you looked around all you could see were more mountains for miles and miles. They're kind of like the ocean in a way." 

Riku remains silent. Ven spares a glance his direction to make sure he hadn't somehow said something wrong. Riku doesn't look upset but contemplative.

"I used to feel trapped here when I was younger. I still do sometimes." Riku shrugs.

Ven can sort of relate to that. Not quite in the same way as Riku but he definitely knows how it feels to be trapped… he doesn't like to think about it much anymore though...

Riku speaks up again, "I'd like to go there one day." He flicks a piece of sand towards Ven, who makes a whiny sound in response. Smiling he continues, "I think I'm getting sick of sand too." 

Ven feels a rush of enthusiasm. Since he had arrived here about a year ago Riku and him had never really gotten the chance to get to know each other. Ven would say they were friends but more like default friends because Sora had wanted all of his friends to befriend Roxas's twin and the cousin he never knew he had. He felt he was finally making some progress here!

"I can show you around when you go there! I've climbed almost all the hikes so I can recommend the ones I think you'd like."

Riku smiles but shakes his head, "Thanks, but I doubt I'll get the chance to go anywhere away from here anytime soon. My parents want me to stay here for college. And Sora does too." He briefly pauses as if thinking about something before continuing "And we still have to get through our junior and senior year of high school. I'm pretty sure I'm stuck here."

Ven deflates just a little, "That doesn't mean you can't take a summer trip eventually. Ask your parents! You can tell them it can be your graduation present."

"That's not a bad idea…" A fond smile spreads across Riku's face, "Sora would probably be upset I'm going somewhere without him though."

Ven narrows his eyes, "I thought you said Sora is fine without you."

Riku turns to him with obvious surprise. Ven almost wants to laugh. Why does everyone assume he's some oblivious innocent kid or something?

Once Riku is able to recover he frowns and simply states, "That's not what I meant."

Ven holds his hands up in a placating gesture, "Sorry, I wasn't trying to upset you. It's just… you sacrifice so much for Sora but then you say stuff like he's fine without you. It doesn't make sense."

Riku visibly relaxes but there's a frown ever present on his face, "Sora means a lot to me… that's all."

Ven recalls something Roxas had mentioned a couple days ago when Riku had threatened to punch his twin if he didn't stop bothering him, which wouldn't have been a big deal but Ven had been tempted to step between them because Riku had sounded legitimately upset. When the silverette had walked away Roxas had regarded Ven briefly, "Don't worry about it Ven he doesn't actually mean it. He's just in a bad mood cause he's jealous."

Ven hadn't understood what Roxas was talking about then but now he thinks back to how enamored with each other Kairi and Sora had been at the party, Riku had hardly spoken to Sora hadn't he? It was obvious to Ven now that Riku had been on edge for a couple weeks now, suspiciously around the same time Kairi and Sora had started dating. He's surprised he hadn't figured it out sooner.

"I get it. It's Sora and Kairi. That's why you're upset isn't it?"

Riku isn't surprised by Ven's comment this time but does cave in on himself and turn away laughing a little in pity.

"First Roxas and now you. I wouldn't be surprised if his Mom knows too. Sora's probably the only one who hasn't figured it out."

Ven frowns. "I… I'm sorry Riku. Sora really does care about you. He just-"

"He doesn't care about me the way I care about him. I know Ven. I can't help the way I feel though, even if he doesn't feel the same."

Ven goes quiet wracking his brain for something to say. They were sort of friends weren't they? He should try to help Riku somehow. He takes a breath because he doesn't especially like talking about this but maybe it's what Riku needs to hear.

"Y'know... for most of my childhood I was sent around to different foster homes." Riku appears to be listening so he continues. "I met a lot of people, most of them were kind but I always wondered about my actual family, what my mom was like."

"A lot happened and when I was around ten I… was in a really dark place. That was when I was sent to Eraqus's foster home. He had two foster kids already named Terra and Aqua and it was thanks to them I started feeling like myself again. It took a year before I felt completely better but in time I was able to make my first friends at school and I had the confidence to do all sorts of things. I… I miss them a lot."

Somehow sitting beside someone else helps him think more clearly and he feels less alone. He continues. "But I'm beginning to think… maybe I was meant to end up here. Sora, Roxas and Laila are my family as much as Terra, Aqua and Eraqus. And I was able to meet you and Kairi and everyone else. I miss Colorado but…I think the world has a funny way of getting us to a place where we're happy, even if it's not how we expected things to turn out."

Riku absorbs his words for a moment and Ven simply listen to the waves, which comfort him as much as a home away from home can. 

"Huh. You're not as much like Sora as I thought you were." 

Ven sends him a questioning look, "What does that mean?"

Riku chuckles lightly, "Nothing, don't worry about it." He sighs, "I hope you're right though. Right now it's… it's tough just seeing the two of them together."

"How long have you felt that way about him?"

Riku sighs, "Honestly I think since I was a kid. I didn't realize what the feeling meant until middle school though." Riku flicks some more sand but not in Ven's direction. "I think I always knew him and Kairi would end up together. Everyone always commented on how perfect they'd be as a couple."

Ven sends him a sympathetic look, "Sorry Riku. I wish there was more I could do to help."

Riku smiles, "It's okay Ven. If you're right about the world I'm sure I'll be okay eventually."

Ven smiles back easily. "Of course! It'll take time but you'll get there."

He only notices now how dark it is and his eyes naturally gravitate above him to the stars. The night sky looks different somehow from Colorado. He can't quite place how though. 

Riku stands up beside him brushing sand off his pants. "We should probably get back. Before the birthday boy starts wondering where we are."

Ven pouts, "But the stars just came out."

Riku sends Ven a curious look as if he's still trying to figure something out but nonetheless follows Ven's example and looks up at the sky. 

For a moment it's completely silent except for the sound of the waves until Riku begins speaking quietly, "When we were little me and Sora used to sneak out here almost every night to look at the stars like we are now. I'd always end up carrying Sora back home because he'd fall asleep."

Ven laughs, "That sounds like Sora! I used to look at them too when I was younger, usually from a window. I wonder what it would be like, to see the stars from every corner of the world."

Riku nods beside him. Somewhere Aqua is busy studying for her biology exam the next day and somewhere else Terra is at a college party wondering what Aqua and Ven are up to. Nearby Sora and Kairi are beginning to wonder where their silver haired friend had run off to and Roxas is searching around the house for his twin.

But right here, right now, Ven sits on the beach looking up at the stars next to Sora's best friend and reassures himself that he does belong here after all.


End file.
